Holidays March 18
Man's first spacewalk
A spaceship called Sunrise-2 was sent to Earth’s orbit. It was part of his mission to first enter into uncharted space. The man’s exit into space envisaged by the Soviet program was monitored by the whole country. Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, dressed in a special spacesuit, sagged overboard for about twelve minutes, and then with the help of a cable returned to it. After some time, the Americans, who started on the Dzheminai-4 ship, repeated the experiment of the Soviet cosmonaut.
Beginning of Lent (date for 2013)
Great Lent or Fast of the Holy Pentecost begins on Monday after Pancake week. On the eve of Sunday forgiven, a rite of universal forgiveness is held in the temples so that believers with a pure soul can enter the Great Lent, established by the Orthodox Church in memory of the forty-day abstinence from Christ's food. According to legend, Jesus soon after baptism went into the wilderness and fasted there.
Lent, as a rule, lasts forty days, and its history begins from ancient times - as evidenced by scripture. The word "Fourteen" itself is often found in ancient written messages. In Russia, the peasants held the post very strictly, refraining even from drinking until nine in the evening. Only vegetables and bread were allowed for food. But meat, eggs and dairy products were strictly forbidden; on the Feast of the Annunciation, people could afford to eat fish.
The rules for observing the fast of Fourteen are clearly formulated in the Church Charter. Only pregnant women, children, the elderly and for medical reasons are exempted from it. Yet the rest are severely condemned by the church for not observing Lent.
March 18 in the folk calendar
Konon Ogorodnik
On March 18, people commemorate the holy Great Martyr Konon Gradar, who lived in the city of Mandone and cultivated gardens, thanks to this occupation he received the nickname - the Gardener.
On Kononov day in Russia, it was customary to soak planting seeds. On the same day, people worked on the land, carefully fertilizing it. On this occasion, they liked to gossip: "Put manure on the Gardener to ridges and you won’t slumber in the winter over an empty pot of tears", or "Where there is an excess of dung peg, there will be excess bread mowing." There were a lot of sayings on the Ogorodnik theme. But so that the gardens would not be attacked by worms and midges, the owners would dig three holes on the ground and then whispering the words and fill them up: “The first hole is for sushi, the second is for midges, and the third is for worms.” An interesting fact is that the garden on Kononov day was cultivated even on a very rainy and cold day. We did not forget about special signs on this day. For example, it was supposed: if the weather on Ogorodnik was clear, then in the summer there was no need to be afraid of hail.
Historical events of March 18
March 18, 1662 - The first public transport appeared in France
The first public transport, released in Paris, was an eight-seat carriage that "worked" on horse drawn traction. Soon, the authorities forbade people of "low social status" to ride in carriages (omnibuses), and for this reason, transport, having lost the bulk of the population, gradually faded away, reviving again in Europe after a couple of centuries. However, not for long thanks to the development of technology. Today, in many countries, omnibuses play the role of an entertainment event, mainly for tourists. But in some cities in Cuba, horse-drawn carriages are still used as public transport.
March 18, 1892 - Stanley Cup Base for the best hockey team
The cup owes its birth to Lord Stanley Preston, who was then Governor General of Canada. According to sources, Lord hockey really liked. He was so carried away by the game that he offered to award the best teams with special symbolic prizes. The first goblet looked very original: an ebony platform, and on it stood a silver bowl twenty centimeters in diameter, framed by gold rims. Gradually, the most prestigious award in world hockey increased to 135 centimeters at the base and 90 cm in height. It is so to this day. Each of the players who managed to win the cup has the right to take it home for only one day, no more.
March 18, 1925 - The most powerful tornado in history
A terrible tornado touched the United States that day. According to experts, his movement was sent through several states (Missouri, Indiana and Illinois). While an ordinary tornado captures a small area and quickly “fizzles out” at a speed of 70 km / h, the “three-staffed” (as it is called in the USA) whirlwind rushed at a much more shocking speed (more than 100 km / h), sweeping away everything on a way. The outcome of the disaster was sad: about 700 people died, more than 2,000 were injured of varying severity, and about 100,000 lost their shelter.
March 18, 1931 - In the United States began the production of electric shavers
Shaving is an integral part of the toilet of a modern man who has always sought to simplify such a long process. The history of the "shaving industry" is very long and entertaining. Even before our era, the ancient Egyptians learned the art of shaving with the help of bronze scrapers. Warriors had to eliminate not only facial hair, but also to shave their heads so that enemies could not grab hold of their hair. To say that the first attempts at shaving was a lot of inconvenience does not make sense. And the solution to this problem occurred to retired Colonel Schick in the early 19th century. He invented the razor, thanks to which shaving turned into a completely safe task. In 1931, the production of the first electric shavers for men’s toilet was started in the USA. So an integral procedure has become quick, painless and as comfortable as possible.
Born on March 18
- Nikolay Berdyaev (born in 1874) - religious philosopher. He became interested in the ideas of social democracy in 1894, and, four years later, was exiled to Vologda. Soon the world saw his first philosophical book. In 1911, his second edition, Philosophy of Freedom, was published, three years later his third book, The Meaning of Creativity, was born, which concentrated religious and philosophical views.
- Rudolph Diesel (born in 1858) - an outstanding German engineer, creator of the famous diesel engine. Inspired by the first engine invented in 1892, Diesel opens its own plant for the production of such units. The first unit with a diesel engine was designed in 1903, and in 1936 the first passenger car was launched.
- Luc Besson (born in 1959) - a talented film director, producer and screenwriter. Such films as "Leon", "Taxi", "Blue Abyss", "Fifth Element", "Nikita", "Carrier", etc. brought him worldwide popularity.
- Giovanna Antonelli (born in 1976) - Brazilian actress, model. Her first acting job was the role in the series "Family Ties", in which she played an unfortunate girl named Kapitu. The talent of the young actress was noticed, so her acting career was born. Most of all, the actress fell in love with the Russian audience thanks to the series "Clone", where she played the Muslim woman Jadi.
Birthday March 18
George, George, Adrian, Ivan, David, Cyril, Irina, Iraida, Mark, Constantine, Nikolai, Theodore (Fedor).
